The Second-Last Uchiha
by Get Keen
Summary: When Naruto unexpectedly awakens the Sharingan, new truths are unveiled and Konoha has to readjust (yet again) to the aftermath left behind by the Number One, Most Unpredictable Ninja. Sasuke is arguably affected the most by the latest in the dobe's saga of weirdness, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing; because, after all, he isn't the Last Uchiha anymore.
1. Prologue

**_Prologue_**

Sasuke Uchiha had insisted that the reason he had collapsed (he refused to say the word 'fainted') during his fight with the ice-nin was due to the fact he had literally been turned into a human pincushion by said ninja's senbon. He neglected to say that, briefly before he had lost consciousness, he had had a front-row seat to a furious blonde's piercing gaze, and although Naruto's anger hadn't been directed at him, but rather at his cowardly attacker (really, he had hidden behind his mirrors because he had clearly been too afraid to fight Sasuke man-to-man), the dark-haired boy hadn't been able to suppress the shiver that had run down his spine.

Naruto's eyes had been a vivid crimson, pupils slit like those of a snake, and an angry, vermillion chakra had started to leak, - yes, leak – out of his small frame. But, while that was mildly terrifying (another fact the Uchiha would never admit aloud), the last thing Sasuke had seen he had quickly dismissed that his clouded mind falling into unconsciousness had no doubt been playing tricks on him. He would never dignify what he had definitely not seen by even considering the fact that it could have been real.

At least, until he remembered that he had had his newly awakened Sharingan active at the time. That – that would be a stinker in contradicting his vehement denial.

The boy was now sitting in the Uchiha Compound's extensive library, scrolls of all kinds spread around him in an unusual mess for the usually (almost painfully) neat genin. He dragged a hand down his face as he recalled the trip back from Wave. Their silver-haired sensei had been eyeing Naruto carefully, which wasn't too far-fetched considering the malevolent chakra his teammate apparently seemed to possess. The unusual part though, and what had only served to add to Sasuke's newfound paranoia that he had not, in fact, inherited a faulty Sharingan (believe him, the alternative was worse), was that the jonin had occasionally spared him a covert, backwards glance before returning to stare intently at Naruto over his little, orange book.

In the privacy of his home, Sasuke let out a very un-Uchiha groan and let his face fall onto the wooden table he was seated at, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

The moment they had all arrived back to the village, the blonde had been spirited away by their sensei with a farewell as short as Naruto, and he and Sakura were dismissed to return to their homes to rest and recuperate. Now, Sasuke knew that it wasn't protocol for a returning jonin-sensei to report with only one other member of their team present, which could only mean one thing…

He sighed. He actually had to consider that what he'd seen in his half-conscious state, had been real. That brought him to where he was sitting now, hunched over clan scrolls, books and heck, even a family tree to find answers to the many questions that were now buzzing around his head like a swarm of an Aburame's chakra-draining insects.

He unrolled yet another scroll, hoping against hope that this one would finally answer the first one on his list. He sighed yet again, something he'd been doing more in the past few hours than he had in his entire life.

Now, if only he could find one conveniently titled: "A Complete History of Blonde Idiots that have Awakened the Sharingan."


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

"…what?" Naruto's voice was hesitant and uncharacteristically subdued. He stared uncomprehendingly at the third hokage, as if he had spontaneously sprouted a second head.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could only sigh and smile sadly at his young charge.

"You heard right my boy," Naruto took a shaky step backwards at the old man's words.

Naruto's tanned cheeks had paled significantly since Kakashi-sensei had whisked him straight into old man hokage's office after Team 7 had arrived back from their first proper mission out of the village. He'd at first breathlessly told the monarch about the fact that he'd apparently awoken the Sharingan with wild gesticulations and a face-splitting grin. When the old man had only looked at him placidly, a grim look on his face, Naruto had lost some of his bluster, confused at the misplaced reaction. He was surely the first non-Uchiha to ever awaken the Sharingan in the history of the shinobi world! This grandpa should be leaping from foot to foot in excitement!

Instead, he had remained seated, rubbing his temples as if a headache was coming on and had waited patiently until the boy had finished his tale, with significantly less bouncing around than when he had first begun it.

Kakashi had also been carefully eyeing the Sandaime's reactions to the news, a ball of nerves settling in the pit of his stomach. Although they had known this day would come eventually, now that it was actually here, he was ashamed to say that he was beginning to fear how it would turn out.

When a familiar buxom blonde had barged into the room, a solemn expression on her face countering the nature of her entry, all three males had turned to her. With a glance at her old sensei that said "I'll take it from here" the sannin bent down to the blonde boy's level, she had been called away from…whatever it was that she had been doing, at the news from Sarutobi that said boy had recently become a genin. "It was only a matter of time from this point onwards" he'd said, as she was well aware.

Naruto, with as much tact as a stubborn mule, had charmingly addressed her with a "who's this granny?" and she suddenly hadn't felt as bad about the news she had had to deliver to the brat as she had prior to his greeting. She'd let rip with it mercilessly.

This leaves us with a shell-shocked Naruto, gaping unceremoniously at the three adults in the room, each with identical solemn expressions on their faces. The floor was now officially open for questions.

"Wh-why did you hide me?" he managed to stutter out, tears welling in his big, fake blue eyes.

It was the Sandaime who took this question, "We, to this day unfortunately, do not know who your father is, my boy, I'm sorry to say that he passed away before you were born. And, as I'm sure you are somewhat aware, the clan can be – difficult, when it comes to matters directly involving them." Naruto swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded slowly. Hiruzen continued, "So, I made the executive decision that, for your safety, it would be better if they did not know about you. And, in spite of this difficult conversation we are having now, I must say I do not regret my decision. Itachi spared no children in the clan that terrible night, with the exception of your teammate."

Naruto swallowed again, the reality of the situation beginning to sink in, making his body feel so much heavier. He sagged slightly, and his sensei guided him gently to a chair. The boy sank into it, giving the tall man a grateful, if wan, smile.

He asked another question, hesitantly this time, "Why don't I look like the -," he gulped, "- the other Uchiha."

Tsunade fielded this one, it was her handiwork that provided the answer to the question after all, "It's a jutsu I performed on you shortly after you were born, kid." Her eyes were sorrowful as she recalled that awful night. Poor brat.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, and he seemed to brighten a little bit, "You mean, I -?"

Tsunade interrupted him with a quiet chuckle, trying to gently guide the boy into a more positive state. This new information should not be bad news to him, in fact it opened up doors for him more so than he could ever imagine. And she would not let this irritating, lovable brat wallow in self-pity for a lost identity (that, if she were completely honest, was in crisis anyways).

She winked at him, "That's right kiddo, you're a full blown Uchiha."

Naruto's blonde brows rocketed into his hairline at the blunt admission, before he leaped out of his seat and bounced towards the woman. She smirked inwardly. Mission accomplished.

"Can I see?" he suddenly seemed so much younger than his twelve years, and Tsunade couldn't resist the baby blues that were being used against her. Honestly, they should be considered a weapon, she thought bemusedly.

"Sure thing, brat," she ruffled his hair, already growing fond of the boy in spite of her better judgement and formed a variation of the hand seals she used to alter her own appearance. That was the reason she'd been roped into the plot to conceal a baby Naruto's identity, she was certainly adept at her craft. She swore that when she died, the dates on her grave would be blank, or better yet: "Born: A Queen, Died: A Queen." Yeah, that sounded more appropriate.

Kakashi Hatake, who had said nothing up until this point, shunshined away and back quickly with a hand mirror in his grasp. Handing it to Naruto, he stepped back and all four ninja watched, enraptured, at the changes that were coming across the boy. Tsunade watched with her brows furrowed in concentration as she continued signing throughout the transformation, it was a complicated, long-term jutsu that she had performed all those years ago, and it was hard to break. It was happening though.

Slowly but surely, Naruto's blonde, unruly mess started to turn black at the roots, the inky colour growing downwards and staining the rest of his mop of hair until it had completely changed colour. Two parts of his hair had also escaped his hitai-ate and were hanging down on either side of his face, just in front of his ears. Naruto's jaw was slack in awe as he gazed at his reflection, watching himself turn into a stranger before his very eyes. Eyes that were also changing colour, swirling darkness bleeding into the bright cerulean blue until his eyes were as enigmatic and unreadable as those of any other Uchiha. His cheeks lost their roundness, and his chin sharpened to a point, face looking like it was getting rid of the last vestiges of childhood. His whisker marks had shifted up slightly, marring his cheekbones now, and seemed to have changed position. Now, one line was almost bordering the bridge of his nose, looking eerily like the marks Itachi had been born with himself. The colour also seemed to leech from his skin, his face and other visible parts of his body bleeding into a paler shade. Naruto peered into the mirror he was now clutching so tight; his knuckles went even paler. He took a deep breath and then stared into his new eyes. Wordlessly, he activated the Sharingan, committing every neo detail to his memory before looking up at his audience, letting the crimson swirl into inky black once more.

All three adults seemed to be watching him with baited breath, Kakashi's hands shaking slightly before Naruto saw him close them into fists.

The boy's jaw tightened determinedly as he made up his mind, embers of excitement burning within his coal irises. The hokage smiled the first genuine smile he had in a long time seeing the fire in his gaze, Naruto would never change.

As if to reinforce that thought, the boy suddenly broke into a large grin (one that was almost unsettling to see on a face that was so clearly Uchiha) before he punched the air.

"My name is Naruto Uchiha, and I'm still gonna be the next hokage, dattebayo!"

Laughter rang throughout the hokage's office, and one masked face finally relaxed into a large, relieved grin that no one could see.


	3. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

Kakashi ruffled the newly dark hair of the boy who was walking next to him practically quivering with nerves. It was the morning after the emotionally charged conversation they had had and, to the surprise of all present after further discussion in the hokage's office, Naruto had decided that he wanted to buy clothes that were "more fitting for an Uchiha", or so he had said. He was now kitted out in gear much more appropriate for the shinobi profession: a navy-blue shirt over a long-sleeved meshwork one, black pants with plenty of pockets, black sandals and finally his hitai-ate, which was still worn proudly across his forehead. All-in-all, he looked like a new person, Kakashi thought with amusement at his own joke. The others had thought that that Uchiha statement the boy had made was mildly worrying, in the sense that he was so willing to throw off his old identity after his initial shock, but in hindsight, Kakashi believed that it may be for the best anyways. Naruto Uzumaki had more pain than anything in his past, but Naruto Uchiha had social standing, abilities that would no doubt propel him forward towards his ultimate goal and, as Naruto himself had belatedly realised, a living relative.

Said living relative was the source for the newest Uchiha's spades of nervous energy, and understandably so. Sasuke hadn't even been civil to the boy in the past, in spite of being able to work together somewhat effectively as teammates, and this was now manifesting in a rather severe insecurity in the preteen. He was worried that the other boy wouldn't accept him as his cousin (which everyone involved had figured would be the safest to refer to the two as, not knowing exactly where Naruto fit into the Uchiha family tree, after all). And, Kakashi pondered as his expression darkened, it was a valid concern.

The bridge where Team 7 met was coming into view now, along with its two other members and Kakashi could almost feel Naruto's sudden desire to turn around and hightail it back to the Hokage Tower. Before he could do just that, he clamped his hand firmly down on the boy's shoulder, earning him a worried glance to which he replied with a gentle shoulder-squeeze that he tried to put all of his positive energy into. Not that he had much to start with in the first place.

Expecting the usual cry of "You're late!" from Sakura and a non-committal grunt from Sasuke was probably a bit far-fetched given the circumstances, but Kakashi would have appreciated some acknowledgement from his cute, little genin regardless.

Instead, their eyes were glued to the "new" boy at his side, on whose shoulder his hand still remained clamped, almost protectively so.

Kakashi eyed the Uchiha subtly, his half-lidded gaze masking its intensity with faux laziness. Sasuke was staring at Naruto with shock (as was Sakura), but there was some suspicion hidden in his angry eyes as well. Kakashi was…honestly, not surprised.

The jonin started to re-introduce a not-so-little anymore Naruto to his team when he was interrupted by Sakura.

"Hi!" she gave the boy a friendly smile, "I'm Sakura and this is Sasuke. We have another teammate, but the idiot is late for some reason, when he gets here pay him no mind, he never has anything useful to say, anyways, so I apologise on his behalf. You're here to help my Sasuke with his Sharingan, right?" Her venomous words were masked with sweetness at meeting the new boy her sensei had brought with him to training (it made sense that this Uchiha-looking person would know something about Sasuke's eyes; even if he wasn't a part of the clan, which he couldn't possibly be) and Naruto was slightly shaken. He was used to her irrational anger towards him and his antics, but he hadn't expected her to be the type to bad-mouth him to other people as well (even if what she was saying wasn't exactly a lie).

Kakashi winced at his student's harsh words but sensed a change in the boy's attitude and looked down at him in surprise, seeing an indignant scowl form on his reddening face as he shook the pink-haired girl's hand like it was a dead fish. Ouch.

He looked back to Sasuke again, whose eyes were now narrowed further, his previously concealed suspicion now clearly written all over his young face. Without warning, his eyes were suddenly red with his bloodline limit, but they returned to normal a moment later and the genin staggered backwards as if he had been punched in the gut.

Before Kakashi could react, the previously known 'last Uchiha' flew at the boy at his side, unceremoniously flinging Sakura out of the way as he slammed his own fist into Naruto's chest.

Not expecting the attack in the slightest, Naruto was thrown into the forest and quickly hidden among the trees, Sasuke not far behind him. Sakura made to follow him as well with a horrified shriek on her lips, but a restraining hand and short shake of the head from her sensei stopped her.

"They'll come back, pinkie," he said tiredly, "and they'll explain everything when they do."

Naruto's back slammed into a tree trunk, knocking the wind out of him. He managed to recover and settle into a fighting stance just in time to see Sasuke's foot enter the clearing, heading straight for his face. He grabbed the sandal with one hand and knocked the boy off of his trajectory but the Uchiha twisted in the air and landed gracefully, a snarl ripping from his lips.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" he roared as he charged towards Naruto again. The former blonde faltered. Of all the reasons for Sasuke to be pissed at him for these recent events, he wasn't expecting this.

"I didn't -," Sasuke cut him off with a punch to the face that Naruto barely managed to counter.

"ALL THIS TIME, I DIDN'T HAVE TO BE ALONE!" Sasuke got the other boy in the ribs this time, sending him to the floor. Hard. Angry tears were flowing from the dark eyes of a lonely, broken child, hurt evident in them now.

"I DIDN'T -!" Naruto was cut off again by an angry scream, he looked up into a tear-streaked face, and suddenly he didn't feel the blows Sasuke was delivering to him. The boy was straddling his chest, skilled taijutsu having devolved into playground brawling.

"I THOUHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND!" He punched Naruto's face over and over again, punctuating each word with a blow.

Naruto finally caught his fists and screamed back at him, his own eyes filled with hot tears.

"I. DIDN'T. KNOW!"

Sasuke had easily managed to rip one fist out of Naruto's grip and had been poised to deliver another furious punch to his already swelling face. He froze now and his eyes widened, the hurt rage suddenly fleeing out of them as he took in the full implications of his teammate's words.

He scrambled off of the other boy, who got up slowly, wincing as he did so.

"I didn't know," Naruto said again softly, his newly dark eyes shining as his own tears finally spilled over. Naruto looked away from Sasuke's intense gaze. He started to get up, slowly and painfully, and involuntarily cringed away from Sasuke as he approached again.

Wordlessly, the raven-haired boy flung his arms around the shoulders of his only other family in the world, silent tears continuing to stream over his cheeks. He would not apologize, but when he felt Naruto's hesitant arms curl around his back he realised he didn't need to.

Suddenly, the other boy's arms tightened around him and Sasuke heard a broken sob sound out across the clearing. It was only the one, the Naruto he knew was too stubborn to let out another. And in this moment, two boys in surprisingly similar situations, and who had arguably had nothing worth having only a few minutes ago; felt equally empty, broken places in their hearts begin to mend.

As their tentative bond of friendship morphed into something stronger, worth fighting for, they both realised that they didn't want to go back to being alone in their big, harsh world.

They also realised that, they didn't have to.


End file.
